To Lose One's Self and Become Another
by Pixidus Velorum
Summary: Harry grows weary of being the Hated Hero, and asks Death for a favor. In the throes of a new life, he finds love, and a new enemy to conquer.
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter Steven U crossover

Harry kills LV, becomes MoD, but is shunned by the populace. All of his friends and family are dead, or blame him for the deaths of their families. Harry dons the hallows and kills himself, then coerces Death into sending him to a new reality, where he wont have to deal with LV or the associated shit. He wants a normal life, but Death refuses, stating that he wasn't meant to be normal, in any universe, but that he can send him to a universe that wouldn't rely on him as their sole savior. Harry agrees, but asks what will happen to the person whose place he will be taking. Death chuckles and tells him that the boy he will be trading places with wants nothing more than to be a powerful, respected person that wont be coddled due to his age and inexperience. Harry begins laughing.

Death points at Harry and closes his fist, compacting the hallows into his body. Harry gasps as more ambient magic from the death realm fills him. A large rose quartz sprouts from his right arm, taking over the entire deltoid muscle. His hair fades from jet black to a hot pink, and curls lusciously down to his bum. He feels his facial features shifting, giving him what he assumes is the classic elfin attributes of haughty, aristocratic beauty. His eyes began to itch, and he assumed it meant that they were changing colors, and they were, from vibrant green to a hot pink matching his new hair. He was sad to lose them, as they came directly from his mother, but he wouldn't argue it.

The next thing he felt was his stomach beginning to bulge. He turned to death with his most threatening expression and told him absolutely not, he had worked and fought very hard for his physique, and wouldn't be losing it, period. It was then he noticed his voice had gotten higher in pitch, but instead of using it to berate his servant, he merely glared petulantly. The final changes he noted, were a wide spread itching across his entire body, head to foot, as his skin tone changed to a soft looking white, with just the faintest hint of blush to it, and the swelling sensation of a few centimeters being added to his hips and bum.

His quirked brow and unamused expression were answered with a shrug, death telling him that the role he was stepping into would see the aditions well made. Harry sighed, but nodded. Now this is the part that's going to hurt- emotionally, probably not physically. Death told him, stepping closer and putting his finger to his master's forehead. The sudden rush of memories, knowledge, and experience was crushing, extremely painful, and gave him a mind shattering migraine, causing him to collapse limply to the floor.

Fourteen short years, more than half his own life, but with so much packed into them, he felt like his head would burst. He dug his now long nails into his temple, not even hearing his screaming. As he felt blood begin to trickle over his fingers, the memories asserted themselves in his brain, not overwriting his own, but replacing them, leaving his own memories as separate information he could peruse at his leisure, but not the automatic response his brain would dredge up when remembering something.

After a long while on the floor, he finally dragged himself to his feet, the blood and damage done by his nails vanishing with the movement. He faced death with a grimace, rubbing at his temples to try and help the information settle. So il be known as steven now? He asked, eyes flickering down to the glowing pink gemstone set into his shoulder. Yes, though you could easily call yourself Quartz, or Rose even, and those around you would gladly take to it. Well, maybe not Greg, but then, you will still be his son, so it is his right, after a fashion. Death informed him, taking a relaxed pose.

And the original Steven, he will have my memories? A nod from the servant. Will he have knowledge of the Hallows? Of you? Harry questioned. No, he will not know of the hallows, only the tales written in that book. And he will know me only as the entity that granted him his wish, not that it will play out the way he seems to think it will. Death told him with the skeletal equivelant of a grin.

Very well, how will I contact you, and what will my cover be, im fairly certain that this steven wont have had the mentality of soldier, nor the reflexes. Death's grin remained, he was so proud of his master asking all the important questions. You can call me to you any time, or, merely draw my symbol on any reflective surface, and it shall work as a mirror call.

As for your cover, it was 'your' birthday, three weeks ago, and you went into gem puberty at midnight. Your physical body and mentality are expected to have changed during this, so you will be able to easily step into this world. Now, your physical body, in that world, is a large rose quartz at the moment, without your mind available to channel your energy into a body, it has stayed that way since your birthday. 'Your' friends have been jealously guarding it in that time, and keeping it as safe as possible. I believe the white one sleeps with it in her bed, and talks to it daily.

Very well, best be off then, im sure your very busy. Give me a ring if im needed. Harry told the Reaper, focusing on the gemstone on his shoulder intensely. "Of course, my master, have fun." With that, Harry vanished in a nova of rosey pink, Harry for the last time.

A blinding pink flash and then there was darkness. Quartz could see very little in the dim light, but would he could see froze him stiff where he lay. He was lying on a bed made purely of water, standing atop a massive column of more water. The bed was also occupied by one other, a goddess of pale, moonlit beauty. Her skin was the same color as the large pearl affixed to her forehead, and her hair was almost the same color, only tinged by the faintest blush of pink.

Her pale blue eyes were wide in wonderment, staring at him unabashedly. Quartz wandered if she had even noticed that she was completely naked, the small, pale nipples of her breasts standing rock hard against the cool chill of the massive chamber in which they resided. Since she seemed to be frozen in shock, Quartz decided that he should speak instead, "Ah, Pearl, you're not wearing any clothes." He told her, pulling himself into a sitting position, but not averting his gaze, merely settling his pink gaze on her own blue, blue orbs.

That seemed to break her from her mental lockdown as she shrieked, the sound nearly breaking his eardrums, before kissing him full on the lips. She then leaned back, pure joy playing about her face, before screaming at the tops of her lungs, "HE'S BACK! STEVEN'S BACK!" She then lunged at him, tackling him into a hug and squeezing him until he wheezed.

"N-not to be a party pooper, but I think id prefer just Quartz from now." He told her, his hand vanishing into his locks to scrub at the back of his head as a blush colored his cheeks prettily. Pearl didn't have time to do more than nod before Garnet was there, Amethyst right behind her. Neither moved, to shocked by his appearance to do anything but stare.

He smiled at them, his blush still firmly in place as he realized that he was naked as well. Hey girls, ah, how've-" He began, but was cut off when Garnett suddenly shuddered, and her fusion broke, leaving Ruby and Sapphire separate, both gawking at him. It was Amethyst who finally spoke first, "Oh Steve-" He cut her off quickly, wanting to nip the whole 'Steven' thing in the bud.

"Please, call me Quartz now, Mother's gem has finally awoken, and I can feel my heritage burning within my gem." He nearly begged her, surprised by his talent in affecting emotions. Then he remembered one of the powers he had received with this new life, empathy. He could feel and effect emotions as easily as speaking now.

"Amethyst looked a little startled, but shook it off and quickly grabbed him into a hug, "Of course Quartz, were just so glad to have you back, you were in your gem for so long, we were afraid that something was wrong and that we had lost you!" The last came out as a tearful whisper, and Quartz felt a warm dampness on his shoulder.

Before he could reassure her that he was fine, her hug turned into a grope as she felt his body all over, making sure to pass over his bum multiple times. "Jees, puberty did you quite a few favors Quartz!" She said loudly, redoubling the blush upon his cheeks, and jump starting Pearl, who quickly separated them, shoving Amethyst off her bed, and accidently sending her careening down the side of the column.

"Humph! Serves her right!" Pearl huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and nodding huffily at the edge of the column where she had shoved Amethyst. This, at last, jogged Ruby and Sapphire back to the present. "Rose Quartz, you are reborn in this new form-" Sapphire began, "And quite the attractive form it is!" Ruby finished for her, not hiding her leering. Quartz and Sapphire both blushed crimson at that, and Pearl began to wind up to shove another gem down the column, but Quartz spoke first.

"That's very.. flattering, Ruby, and I'm glad to see the two of you again, and you Amy. But I am rather tired, growing up is pretty exhausting. Can we gawk at me in the morning?" He asked, a short, rose patterned sarong forming over his bits as he spoke. His blush didn't fade, but his rose gaze delivered his message effectively regardless.

"O-of course, Quartz." Amethyst said, having just cleared the column and dropped onto the surface that moment. Ruby and Sapphire nodded, then fused back into Garnet and jumped off the column, dragging the purple gem with her. He turned to Pearl, who was openly staring at him, her lips slightly parted and a deep blush acrossed her cheeks and down her throat, covering the tops of her breasts.

He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. "Thank you for watching over my gem and keeping me company while I was… indisposed. We will talk more in the morning, but I really am tired now." He told her laying back down facing her and letting his eyes fall closed, almost immediately falling to sleep.

He didn't hear the timid whisper from Pearl as she lay down next to him, pulling one of his arms over her, "O-of course, my l-love."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Quartz was woken by the quiet sound of giggling. He could hear Amethyst, scant feet away, trying to stifle her mirth, and he tell why, as the rest of his body awoke. He was lying on his back, and Pearl was sprawled over him like so many covers, her head on his chest, presumably listening to his heart. Her arms were wrapped around him, and her legs were tangled with his. But that wasn't the source of her mirth.

Somehow, he could just feel the bucket of water hanging above them, just now tipping over. In a flash, he had spun, laying Pearl on the bad where he had been, and his hand was thrust out, a large, pink, glowing concave tower shield appearing on his arm. The shield neatly caught every droplet of water, and flung it back at Amethyst, drenching her.

It all happened so fast that all the purple gem had seen was a blur of pink before she was doused with her own prank. The jolt of movement had woken Pearl, and she was anything but amused. She had been very much enjoying her rest, lying upon her chosen love, encircled in his arms. She expressed her displeasure by summoning her spear.

The pale weapon thrust forward from the side of Quartz's shield, and pierced Amethyst through the shoulder. Amethyst had honestly expected this, but what she hadn't forseen, was the lightning fast strike of the shield. It was an odd feeling, the shield was hard as stone, but its touch was like that of a lover, a gentle caress teasing her, just before it blasted her off her feet and off the column of water.

The last thing she saw before falling out of view of them was the surprised look on Pearl's face that flashed to one of joy and victory.- A frown formed on falling gem's face, and stayed there until she impacted on the floor, which served to jog her thought process. 'That bitch! She thinks she can just claim him like that! Without even giving me or Garnet a chance!'

Amethyst stormed out of Pearl's room with a scowl on her face, headed straight to Garnet, to let her know what Pearl was doing. 'Just because she had his mother does not mean she can have him too!' She ranted in her head.

Back in Pearl's room, Quartz was standing at her bedside, stretching himself like a cat, looking more like a trapeze artist than a gem. He then movede into a couple of katas that even made Pearl a little jealous. She gulped, and started blushing furiously as she took in all the tightly corded, bulging muscles as they expanded and contracted. The hue of his skin slowly deepened into a darker, dusky rose, more reminiscent of his mother's.

With a final stretch, setting off a cascade of clicks and pops up and down his spine, he finished, a satisfied smile on his face. He turned to Pearl and offered her his hand, "Shall we go down for breakfast with the others?" He asked, pulling Pearl from her bed when she took his hand. "Sure, just let me," She twirled on the spot, quickly returning her hand to his as her outfit materialized over her.

With a smile and a twitch of his lips, Quartz's short sarong from the night before reappeared, along with a gauzy white t-shirt that hung baggy over his torso. There was a large pink star emblazoned over the back of his left shoulder, the only color on the purely white garment. In a flash, he pulled them over the edge of the column of water, startling a scream from Pearl. She latched onto Quartz for dear life, offhandedly noting the way his muscles felt beneath her hands.

Just before the hit the floor, a ring of pink energy formed at their feet, arresting their momentum easily, and gently dropping them to the floor with barely a whisper of their feet. Quartz gave Pearl another blinding smile and led her from her room, out the door and into the house. Sitting in the kitchen, around a massive stack of pancakes, were Amethyst, Sapphire and Ruby, the later presumably wanting to introduce themselves to him individually.

"Hello girls." Quartz greeted them as he took a seat at the table next to Sapphire. "H-hi Rose Quartz.." Sapphire greeted him with a blush coloring her cheeks. Ruby grinned and, before he could reply, said, "She likes you, like, /really/ likes you!" His mouth dropped open slightly as his eyes lowered to the furiously blushing face of Sapphire.

In the next moment, a large hunk of pancake found itself firmly lodged in Ruby's mouth, while Sapphire told her to shut up, quite forcefully. "I-I, thank you, Sapphire, I'm flattered.." Quartz quickly cut himself some pancakes and dug into them instead of continuing the conversation, the blue gem beside him doing the same, while subtly scooching a little closer to him. He spared her a short glance, causing her to blush even deeper, but said nothing.

Through this all, Amethyst was watching open mouthed, fork filled with syrup laden pancake idly hanging in front of her mouth. Pearl seemed incensed, but unsure how to continue. Just as breakfast was finishing, Sapphire dropped her fork in shock, her eyes glowing a light blue through her fringe "Th-theres a Red Eye approaching Earth!" She gasps out.

In a flash, Garnet has reappeared and Pearl and Amethyst are on their feet, charging outside. Quartz sighs, finishing his last bite of pancakes before pushing away from the table. He steps outside, and sees that the Red Eye has much more than approached, it was only a few hundred meters out into the ocean. As he walks slowly down to the beach he freezes mid step, shocked to see Garnet throwing Amethyst at the creature.

As expected, the purple gem merely thudded against the thing ineffectually. As he draws even with Pearl and Garnet, Pearl lobbing her spear at the thing, he fishes a dazed Amethyst from the water. With a soft kiss, he restored her mind, clearing the cobwebs from the impact, and removing the light nick that had formed on her gem.

After cradling her for a moment in his arms, he stands her on her own feet, holding onto her as she swayed for a moment with a goofy smile on her face. He gives her a genuine smile, eyes fluttering closed with the motion for a moment, nearly making the rambunctious gem swoon. The moment is broken by the loud clang of Pearl's spear shattering against the Red Eye. Once more, an ineffectual attack. With an irritated growl, Garnet launches herself at the thing, glove encased fist first.

She impacts with a terrific bang, the weapon shattering, along with her hand. An uncharacteristic cry of pain escapes the gem's lips as she plummets into the water. In a flash, Quartz is below her, plucking Garnet from the air. He turns a glare to the offending machine, his eyes no longer a bright pink, but glowing furious red.

He thrusts a glowing pink hand toward the orb, "Facti sunt destrui!" He bellows, his voice holding unfathomable power as a lance of pink energy bursts from his palm. The beam seems to blossom into a single rose just before it impacts the Red Eye. The orb shudders, engulfed in pink flames, the explodes with a shriek, raining the pink fire down, where it continues to burn on the water.

As Quartz walks back to the shore, towards a gaping Pearl and Amethyst, he feels Garnet shudder, and shifts her just before the fusion breaks and he is left holding Ruby in one arm, and Sapphire in the other. Both girls are crying softly, clenching their right hands, which are visibly broken, and swollen red. As he passed to the beach, his footsteps making small ripples on the surface of the ocean, he looked like a total badass, fire all about as he calmly strolls away from the scene.

When he reaches the beach, he kneels, setting the gems he was carrying on the sand. He takes their hands gingerly, compassion burning in his gaze as a slight trickle of tears escape down his cheeks. "My poor babies.." He murmurs, placing a kiss on first sapphire's then Ruby's hands, his gen glowing brightly as the damage reversed, leaving their small hands perfectly unblemished.

Ruby and Sapphire both blushed at the endearment and treatment, staring at their hands in wonder. "You can heal, just like her…" Sapphire murmurs outloud, while Ruby squeals, "Thank you!" Throwing herself at him in a strong hug. Her head next to his ear, she quietly whispers to him, "I really like you too!" She releases him, and before pulling away, darts forward to give him a soft kiss. His cheeks flushed, then colored even deeper when, after Ruby parted from him, Sapphire took her place, repeating her actions.

While Amethyst was busy staring at the three of them, Pearl was rapidly consulting a display being projected from her gem. The incantation he had shouted was being compared against various languages very quickly, until it stopped on a match. She turned to him, her eyes wide, and mouth hanging open. It took her a few moments to speak, but when she did, it was almost a whisper.

"You just /told it to blow up and it did?!" she exclaimed, staring at him incredulously. He merely shrugged, hugging the two smaller gems to him briefly before letting them go and standing up, much top their disappointment. "It hurt my girls, that made me very angry." Pearl continued to gape at that, while sapphire blushed deeply. Ruby, interestingly enough, seemed to glow about her face and neck, in lue of blushing, as she was already red.

"Lets go back in, that made me hungry again." He told them, heading back into the house.


	2. Chapter 2

so, I wanted to do a chapter for Steven after he was dumped into the HP verse. Here it is. I dont know how many, if any more of these I will do, but you know, r&r, tell me if you like it, or if you would be interested in seeing more of this.

Disclaimer: _Disclaimed_

CH2

In an over grown cemetery, earth bare of all but weathered, crumbling tombstones and the rusting remains of a large, shattered cauldron, there is a nova of green light, a splitting in the fabric of space and time. For the barest of moments, an observer, had there been one, would see the endless darkness of Death's domain before a figure appeared, and the rift closed.

The figure is rail thin, resembling more closely an unwrapped mummy than a man. His shaggy, untamed black hair falling into dirty, unkempt dreadlocks down his back. His robes are ripped and dirty, splashes of blood in areas. Grasped in his hand is a sickly looking pale wood wand, weak sparks spouting from it intermittently. His eyes snap open to reveal glowing green orbs, the same shade as the feared Avada Kedavera.

For a moment he just lays there, then, in a rush, he rolls to his side, hands clawing at his temples while he screams bloody murder. His screaming is cut off as he vomits prolificly, blood and bile spurting from his mouth as he writhes in the dirt, begging for the memories to stop, the pain of twenty years of war and hell to just cease. They don't. And he keeps screaming and intermitantly vomiting, until every year's worth of agony and sorrow asserts its place in his mind.

When the onslaught finally stops, finally, he drags his sleave over his mouth, smearing the bloody bile around with the dirt from his sleave more than wiping it away. He shudders, tears pouring down his face, turning the dirt on his cheeks to a muddy substance. "Th-this isn't wh-what I w-wanted!" He screams to the heavens, "I just want to go home to the gems! Please! Take me home! Please!" He screams this at a headstone, not knowing how, but knowing that the figure that had done this could hear him.

The air shivered before the nearest headstone for a moment, before the creature was there, its every attribute concealed by a ragged black cloak. The creature twitched, then started laughing, a howling, dreadful sound, like the wind blowing through a crypt. "This is exactly what you wanted, and you are home, Harry, back in England, a mere 200 miles from London, that's only two apparition jumps to Grimmauld, you know." Death's voice was like the rasping of the dead, and it was dripping with malice and amusement.

Steven began to cry. "Th-this isn't m-my h-home! I w-want t-to go b-back to Beach City! B-back to m-my Dad and P-Pearl and G-Garnet and Amethyst!" He wailed, lunging for the personification of Death. It stepped back, leaving Steven to grasp only the edge of it's cloak. The motion dislodged its hood, which fell down, revealing the gleaming skull and stack of vertebrae that it stood on.

The skeleton bent slightly and grabbed Steven by the ruff of his neck, lifting to eye level so it could stare into the boys eyes with its empty sockets, "Then you shouldn't have asked a favor from Death." It sneer at him, flinging him away. Struck dumb with fear, Steven ragdolled through the air to impact a headstone with a dull thud.

Death turned on his heal, preparing to leave, and its skull turned a full 180 degrees to look at Steven one more time. "But since your wish has granted my master a great deal of joy and peace, something I couldn't give him myself, I will leave you with some advice. From this point onward, you are Harry Potter, there is no Steven Universe in this reality. There are no Crystal Gems here. Your magic, while powerful, can only be channeled through that wand. The knowledge of how to use it is in your head, quit repressing it and you will find yourself quite adept, though you wont be capable of all my Master's tricks. Go to Grimmauld Place, it's location is in your memories, as well as how to apparate.

Go there, and the man there will be most helpful to you. Do not talk about your past life, my Master is powerful and respected, yes, but he is feared, and any talk of that which does not exist here will only make your life more difficult." Death's skull rotated back forward and he began to shimmer away, only to pause for a moment longer, "And don't shun the man at Grimmauld, he will be your greatest ally, and closest friend, if you allow him." Then Death vanished, the only thing remaining his voice, echoing in the desolate graveyard.

"And don't call for me again, unless your plight truly amuses me, I wont answer." Steven- no, he had to be Harry now, he reminded himself solidly for a few minutes, Harry, sat on the ground for a while mind churning through the memories he had received, shuddering and crying intermittently, as he relived the horrid life of 'Harry'.

After a while, he felt he had a decent grasp of who he was now. He also felt very cold and hungry. He stood, and looked at the wand in his hand. Curious, he trawled his memories quickly for a spell, then pointed the wand at a headstone a fair distance away. 'Bombarda!' he chanted in his head, eyes frowing wide as a yellow light burst from the wand and impacted the stone, causing a thunderous boom and turning the rock to a fine dust.

"Wicked…" He murmured, unconsciously slipping into British vernacular. 'Right, Grimmauld Place' He thought, easily finding the destination in his mind and turning as if to spin around.

With a deafening crack, he appeared In a pristine entry hall, stumbling from the sudden shift of locations and falling on his boney rear. The crack alerted the home to the new arrival, and a set of curtains beside the door flew open, the screeching voice of Walburga Black nearly making his ears bleed with its intensity, "MUDBLOODS! BLOOD TRAITORS! FILTH! FIIIIILTH!"

The painting screamed, and Harry quickly lost his pacience and snapped, lobbing a silent volley of 'Incedio!' at it. The screeching quickly turned to screaming as the painting began to burn, and In a few short seconds, it was gone. The magical fire cut off, and the only thing remaining was a large scorch mark on the otherwise pristine green wall.

Next thing Harry new, a platinum blond missile had attacked him, tackling him to the floor in a crushing hug. "HARRY! YOUR BACK!" A very soft male voice exclaimed, then continued with, "Eww, and your filty! Come on then, into the wash, you can tell me about where you have been while I clean you up!" With that, Harry Potter was summarily dragged off to the showers by a very enthusiastic Draco Malfoy.


	3. Chapter 3

Heyo, this is another Quartz chapter, for all of you who tuned in for this latest chapter.

Disclaimer: disclaimed

Ch3

It had been a few days since Quartz had arrived in his new reality, and he was finally settled in, though the looks he was getting from the residents of Beach City were still a bit unnerving. Namely in that they didn t seem to care, once he had re-introduced himself as Quartz, the adult form of Steven Universe. Sure, they were a bit awed by his physical changes, but they apparently chalked it up to normal, as after telling him he was pretty different now, they dropped it and treated him as they always had, albeit with a bit more respect, owing to his new-found maturity.

It was a very moving experience for Quartz, so used to people either fawning or trembling at him, praising and cursing his name in the same sentence. It had actually brought him to tears a couple times, which, of course, had made Sandy at the Big Donut coo at how cute he was.

This morning found him down on the beach, clad only in his short sarong as he moved through his morning stretches, then his workout routine; one thousand push ups, one thousand sit ups, a two mile sprint, and, now that he had an ocean readily available for his use, a feverish swim a mile out and then back. By the time he had returned from the water, panting heavily from the strain of it, his whole body was positively glowing pink with the rushing of his blood beneath his skin, and his gem was pulsing with a pleasant glow in time with his heart.

He dropped to the sand and began carefully wringing his long tresses out, a small pool of water forming behind him. After he had cooled down, and his glowing had died down, he stood with a stretch, enjoying the minor release of tension built up in his muscles from the workout. As he paced back towards the house, every window and crack in the building lit up with a flash of blinding white light.

A bolt of fear lanced through him for the barest moment as he began to dash forward, his mind only catching up and relaying that it was the teleportation matrix activating as his hand gripped the door handle. He calmed his racing heart, a smile forming on his face as he realized what it meant; Garnet must be back from her mission.

He opened the door and stepped in, finding Garnet indeed returned, talking to Amethyst while Pearl analyzed a small figuring depicting the lunar goddess holding a crystal. Garnet stopped talking abruptly at his entrance, cutting off abruptly mid word. She quickly darted over to him in a blur, her fusion breaking and Ruby and Sapphire appearing to latch onto him in a hug. Hi Rose Quartz, we missed you! They chorused to him, large smiles splitting their faces.

He dropped down to their height and looked them over, scrutinizing them for injuries. Finding none, he gave them a warm smile and pulled them into another hug. Im glad your back, and unharmed. He told them, placing a kiss on each of their foreheads, making them glow with blushes. He stood back up and moved over to Pearl, his own eyes joining hers in scrutinizing the statuette.

Isnt this the Moon Goddess figure that is supposed to reside in the Lunar Sea Spire? He asked her, turning his gaze to Pearl in question. Pearl opened her mouth to reply, then froze, surprise clear on her face. I- Yes, it is, h-how did you know? She asked him, eyes darting to his gem for a moment. He nodded, confirming her suspicions, Yes, it told me, I have access to her memories, well, some of them.. he trailed off, a blush coloring his cheeks, one quickly mirrored by Pearl

R-right, well, the Lunar Sea Spire is rapidly deteriorating in its absences, and I calculate that it will collapse into the sea if the statuette isn t returned to its pedestal by midnight. We were about to leave to replace it, i-if you want to come along? Pearl explained, seeming a bit sheepish with her offer. Amethyst and Garnet, who had re-fused after greeting him, both looked a little shocked at the offer, but nodded vigorously in agreement.

He smiled beatifically at them, Of course, I wouldn t want any of my girls getting hurt on a mission without me! He told them. With a twitch of his nose, his clothes changed, becoming the armor of the ancient Spartan Hoplites; a battle skirt of pink, gem-like scales, a curaise of a solid pink quartz, detailed with finely sculpted abs and a gentle swell over his pectorals, furthering his androgenous looks. His feet were covered in pink quartz boots, a deep pink cape formed from his curaise, dropping to his heals and detailed with an embroidery of a rose in bloom. Cradled in his arm, a Spartan helm with a large, pink crest traversing from fore to rear.

More than one female gulp was heard at his change of clothes and he grinned. Well? I m ready, lets roll! He exclaimed, dropping the helm onto his head and striding over to the warp pad. There was a general rush as the other gems hurried over to the pad to join him, and before long, they were being lifted in a nova of white light, and hurtling through space towards the spire.

They arrived in a flash of white, at the ruins of the spire. The pad was situated in a receiving building off the main spire, and over grown by vegetation. All around them was the sweet tang of sea water, and the rushing of swiftly moving water. The disrepair of the ancient tower brought a tear to Pearl s eye, and shocked Amethyst, who had known, on an intellectual level that the tower would be in disrepair, but hadn t quite expected the severity of the damages.

Before they could step off the pad, there was a hiss, and a large, glittering white, shrimp-like creature, crystal shrimp, Quartz mind provided him with, was flying at them, a mouth full of teeth set on latching onto Garnet. Before the tall gem could react, Quartz tower shield reappeared, flashing into existence in time to bash the small creature away.

With a small twirl, and a flash of pink, a long, savagely bladed spear appeared in his hand, and thrust forward, past the shield, to pierce the shrimp, killing it with a shriek and a puff of white dust. Crystal Shrimp infestation. Nasty blighters must have moved in when the last gems left. Quartz told them, naturally assuming the role of leader, and pressing forward, off the pad.

As he moved, his spear flashed in and out, destroying a hoard of the crystalline beasties. Pearl stared after him, undisguised lust in her eyes, while Amethyst just stared for a moment after him, before drawing her whip and getting to work along with him. Unseen behind her sunglasses, Garnet s eyes were all three trained on Quartz, Red and Blue in admiration, and the Purple, calculating. That was a very British thing of him to say she thought, before charging after the others towards the Spire.

They waded through more and more of the crystal shrimp, the air heavy with their dusty remains, until they came to the spire itself. The bridge that had once connected the aging spire to the reception center was long corroded away, nothing but rubble on either end.

Quartz examined the gap for a moment, as Pearl explained that the vortex holding the spire aloft was too strong for them to jump over. Taking a few steps back, and lengthening his spear, Quartz charged forward, lodging the tip of his spear in a crack in the stone and using it to pole vault over the expanse. At the zenith of the vault, he felt the vortex begin sucking him down, and he shifted his weight just slightly, giving the shaft of his spear enough tension to throw him the final couple of feet into the spire.

The gems stared after him, Pearl being the first to follow, performing his same move with her own spear, and landing cradled in his arms on the other side. Next was Amethyst, slinging her whip over the gap, to miss her intended target, an exposed support beam, and be caught by Quartz. He wrapped the whip around his arm and jerked, launching her over the gap and into his waiting arms.

She stared at him again for a moment, wide eyed in surprise, be fore blushing and vanishing her weapon. "Th-thank you Quartz." She murmured to him, fairly glowing a pale purple. He just gave her a small smile and released her, letting her seperate to stand with Pearl, who was split between giving the purple gem a territorial glare, and examining their next obstacle.

Before Quartz could perform any more heroics, Garnet seemed to flash from existance, and reappear at his side, having dashed over the gap faster than his eyes could perciev. He gave her an appreciative look, then turned to the rushing channel of water seperating them from the stairs to the top of the spire.

Just as Garnet was preparing to punch a support pillar into a bridge, he touched her shoulder, pausing her. His tower shield re-appeared, quite tall this time, and he laid it over the gap. It was a simple solution, but it didnt endanger the spire's structural stability.

Garnet flushed with mild embaressment, and they all crossed. Half way up, Quartz and Garnet were stopped, looking out over the sea from the excellent vantage provided by the window they were at. Amethyst and pearl however, were bent over, clutching their knees and gasping for air, very winded from the seemlingly endless trek of stairs to the zenith of the tower.

It took almost another hour before they reached the peak, punctuated by various stops to clear out crystal shrimp infestations. With a reverent air, Quartz took the statuette and lovingly placed it on its pedestal, just as a lance of moon light dropped from the sky.

The crystal clutched in the statuettes hands began to gently glow, before brightening near blindingly. A moment later, a flash of light burst from it, enveloping the roof of the spire and slowly traversing its many floors. The warm, gentle light of the Lunar Goddess once again filled the spire, healing the entropy of the ages and evicting the many nasties that had taken residence.

Before the Gems' very eyes, the spire repaired itself, fallen or missing pieces of stone returning to the rightful places. When the ritual had completed there was a light, ringing tone throughout the spire, and they all felt a feeling of great gratitude well in thier hearts.

Quartz gasped, nearly dropping to his knees as his sensetivity to emotions was nearly overwhelmed by the feeling. "Th-the G-Goddess, sh-she is g-grateful, f-for our r-restoration of h-her spire!" He gasped out, his heart pounding. There was a pulse of moon light around the spire, as though the construct itself were agreeing with him.


End file.
